The European markets are seen opening largely unchanged on Thursday as investors await a stimulus program from the European Central Bank. The markets rallied sharply over the last five days on expectations that the ECB will launch a large-scale program to buy government bonds when its governing council meets later in the day.
There are expectations that the central bank will propose to buy roughly 50 billion euros a month in bonds for at least a year to boost growth and avoid the risk of a pervasive and persistent decline in prices. The markets may turn volatile later in the day as investors had already factored the prospects of the asset purchase program.
Also, with Ukraine's president accusing Russia of moving additional troops and military hardware into his country and polls pointing to a comfortable victory for Greece's Syriza party in Sunday's general election, investors are likely to adopt a cautious stance heading into the ECB meeting. The euro held steady in Asian deals as investors braced for ECB moves.
Meanwhile, following moves in Switzerland, Denmark and Turkey, Canada's central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points late Wednesday to counter the effects of cheaper oil and its impact on economic growth.
Oil prices fell slightly this morning after OPEC on Wednesday defended its decision not to cut output in November. "The price will rebound and we will go back to normal very soon," OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said.
Asian stocks are trading mostly higher following positive leads from Wall Street and Europe overnight. The European economic calendar remains light today, bringing the focus solely on ECB President Mario Draghi's press conference due at 2.30 pm ET.
On the earnings front, American Express reported solid fourth-quarter earnings after the U.S. market close on Wednesday, while eBay Inc. unveiled plans to cut its workforce by 7 percent after posting mixed quarterly earnings results.
In domestic corporate news, German lender Commerzbank AG plans to cut about 100 jobs in London and move another 340 as it concentrates foreign exchange and interest-rate trading in Frankfurt, the Bloomberg reported.
Computer interface devices maker Logitech International S.A. reported a 31 percent increase in profit for the third quarter from last year, reflecting a slight increase in revenues and higher margins.
Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for its Cerdelga capsules, a first line oral therapy for certain adults living with Gaucher disease type 1.
The European markets extended their winning streak to a fifth consecutive session on Wednesday after news emerged that the European Central Bank is set to unveil further unveil stimulus measures despite strong criticism from Germany. The German DAX rose 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.9 percent and the FTSE 100 of the U.K. climbed 1.6 percent.
U.S. stocks extended gains for a third day on Wednesday as investors weighed higher oil prices, positive earnings results from Netflix and UnitedHealth as well as chances of further policy easing by the European Central Bank. In economic releases, building permits dropped for the second month in a row in December, while housing starts topped forecasts, separate reports showed.
The Dow edged up 0.2 percent despite a tepid outlook from IBM, the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 added half a percent.
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